And We Danced
by Summersetlights
Summary: It's a hot summer night, the music is playing, and Eli can't help but notice Clare.


**_Disclaimer: I don't own Degrassi. _**

**_Um. Enjoy?_**

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><p><em><strong>I.<strong>_

Hot.

That's the only way to describe such a day.

It was the kind of day that if you were a child, you'd spend your day running outside and eating water melon. It was the kind of day where everything seemed okay, despite any rough situation you were in. The air was warm and the smell of flowers was thick, front doors were open, welcoming company. The smell of fried chicken ran through each household and smoke filled the air from the bonfires.

Just another summer day.

And then you had the summer love. Couples walking down the street, holding hands, smiling at each other. It was the oldest kind of love in the book. Summer love. Whether it lasted a day, two months, six years, or even a lifetime, it was powerful. Anybody could agree that it was a truly beautiful sight. That is, if you have someone.

And Elijah Goldsworthy didn't.

So, therefore, he didn't find it beautiful. Not in the slightest.

In fact, it was just a reminder. A reminder that he was alone in the warm universe.

And with that realization, he picked up his half-empty cup of beer and dumped all of it in his mouth, wanting summer to end.

**_II._**

She looked stunning.

But then again, she always did.

Eli watched her through the crowd of dancing people. She looked so free and he was sure that he had never seen something so sweet and pure. Her smile lit something in his body. Happiness? Is that what he felt? He was sure that that was what it was. Because it felt foreign and new and completely overwhelming. And Clare kept dancing. Dancing like a little girl. She looked happy.

And in the end, that's all he ever wanted for her. Just for her to be happy.

He wanted to go. He had decided to come for Adam, to give him a bit of help before he asked out that pretty girl in his Sociology class. And Eli had given Adam some pep talk and him some advise, and watched Adam walk over to the girl in the blue sweater, his palms sweating. Eli glanced over at the beanie-haired boy and took in his stance. His arm was wrapped around the girl, and he was obviously offering her his jacket. Eli snorted at witnessing his best friend being suave.

But the air was cooling down and Eli was feeling colder than ever, because Clare had just danced with someone. And didn't even acknowledge Eli's presence, while she was the only one that he looked at. But he soon found that he couldn't move, because she was sitting on the sand and drank lemonade. Her feet dug into the sand and her head strained back, closing her eyes.

Eli decided that he had never seen something so beautiful.

**_III._**

There was a conflict.

A conflict of the mind and heart. Which, to be frank, was the hardest conflict to deal with.

Eli wanted to jump up and run to her. He wanted to push his feet in the sand with her and have her giggle with him about something that didn't make sense. But his mind kept playing the scene at the hospital. He remembered her face, staring at him, with tears in her eyes. And he remembered how he had felt after that night. How he had felt when he came home and hobbled upstairs to sleep. He remembered the deep hole he had crawled into.

He was at a crossroad.

Eli could either, A. Run to her, or B. Run away from her.

They both sounded appealing.

But before he could make his choice, he felt himself stand up, leading him over to the beautiful girl.

_**IV.**_

A spasm of fear went through him, because, oh my god, he was actually going to talk to her. In a way, it felt exciting to walk to her, but it was also frightening. What if she said no?

But when he saw a boy around his age talk to her, he paused, his shoes slightly sinking in the sand. And when Clare laughed at something the boy said, Eli walked again. He felt his heart thump, adrenaline pumping through his veins. He just had to try. If she told him to go away, he would, and he would be happy that he tried. Tried, but failed.

Eli found himself in front of her feet. He toenails were painted a nice blue, the color matched her eyes. And Clare stopped talking to the boy and looked down at the shoes in front of her. It was obvious that they were Eli's. Who else would wear large, black boots to the beach? Eli's eyes stayed on her face, looking for any sign of anything good.

He saw nothing.

But then, almost out of nowhere, a small smile appeared on her pink lips, and Eli felt his chapped ones turn up too.

Eli didn't notice that the boy had walked away, because he only had eyes for the sweet girl in front of him.

And before Eli could stop it, he felt the question that he had been dying to ask pop up.

"Will you dance with me?"

**_V._**

Clare bit her lip and squinted her eyes before looking up at him. Her eyes widened at his expression. His face was open and vulnerable and completely naked. An expression that she had never seen before.

And maybe it was the summer air, or the smell of hot dogs, but she felt the answer forming on her tongue.

"Decision time: Stay or go." Eli said, his tone playful, one that she was familiar with.

Eli's cheeks reddened when Clare giggled, remembering the time in Ms. Dawes class room.

"I guess I can," Clare said, her voice mocking. She reached her hand out for Eli to pull her up, "one dance, Goldsworthy. Don't forget that I know how you dance. Stepping on feet and all."

"Details, details." He said, waving his hand in the air. And he led her to where everyone else was dancing.

As the slow song played, Clare wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her cheek on his chest. Eli glanced down at the girl in his arms and felt himself smile a smile that he hadn't smiled in a long time. Her soft hair tickled his exposed skin on his chest and he flashed back to the times when they'd lay together on those quiet night, when the only noise was the humming of the old house and the sweet nothings he'd whisper into her ear.

Eli felt Clare sigh lightly and watched her close her eyes. She moved to his rhythm and followed his lead.

"You look beautiful tonight, Edwards." Eli felt himself murmur, and her eyes slowly opened up.

"You look handsome, too, Goldsworthy." Clare smiled brightly up at him and Eli laughed.

"I try." He said, sounding non-chalant.

"I bet."

Eli looked down at her and found the cheeky smile painted on her lips. And they continued to dance slowly even when the song had ended and was replaced with a faster song. He started to lean into her and she felt her chin lean to him too. Their lips were almost touching and both were breathing heavily.

"Everybody is dancing." Clare murmured, when they had both stopped moving.

"You care too much about what people think." Eli whispered back, his eyes shining. And his grip on her tightened.

"Oh, please! I do not! Just because-"

And the speech was interrupted with a kiss.

Their lips moved together, remembering and feeling. It had been so long for the both of them. It was something that they had both dreamed about doing for months. Clare's tiny hands moved to his hair and felt the soft locks in her hands. Eli wrapped his arms around he tightly, not wanting to let go. Because she smelled like lavender and that alone made his mouth water. Their bodies moved together in a rhythm that only they could move to. They were in their own world, even though the sounds of summer were heard around them. The smell of fried chicken still traveled from house-to-house and the children were still eating water melon and the teenagers around them were still dancing.

But the two lovers continued to stand there, together at last.

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><p><strong><em>...so.<em>**

**_Don't exactly like this, but..._**

**_I would like it if you reviewed_**!


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